Hobbies

January 04, 2013

'A Place Called Perfect' is an intriguing book written by Helena Duggan about, as you may be able to guess from the title, a place called 'Perfect'. It was published by Helena Dugan and was one one of my favourite books that I read in 2012.

This book is about a girl called Violet, who had to move to 'Perfect' because her Dad was given a job there as he was an Optician. Her Mother moves with them as well.

Here Violet meets George and William Archer,two of the three Archer brothers, who have hatched a mischievous plan to make the town look perfect through the eyes of the citizens of the town using special glasses.

When Violet attends the school, she finds all the children follow rules in everything they do.

After the family have moved to 'Perfect', Violet's Dad suddenly goes missing, yet her Mother does not seem to worry about this as she is wearing the special glasses so is unaware of this awful event.

Finally, she meets 'Boy', an orphan from 'No Mans Land' where people who are not affected by the Archer brothers 'mind control' tactics are sent. This is where they find the third Archer brother, William, and together they venture through 'Ghost Town' on a journey to stop the Archer brothers and find Violet's father.

I am not going to spoil the ending of this book so I will leave the story there.

I would rate this book eight out of ten, because it had amazing description and an ever-interesting plot.

I would recommend this book to ten to twelve year olds who enjoy fantasy and horror books.

Thank you for reading this book review, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Disclosure: I was lucky enough to be sent 'A Place Called Perfect' by Helena who I have not met, but through the wonder of social networking my Mum was contacted by a friend in America suggesting I might like to read the book. And what did we find? Helena lives in Ireland just like me! It really is a small world. Thank you Helena - I look forward to reading your next book.

December 26, 2011

Wild and Wonderful Origami was written by Mari and Roshin Ono and was published by CICO Books in September 2011.
This book is full of fun origami models that are quick and easy to make. The pieces are rated in difficulty.

One coloured circle means an easy piece, two means medium difficulty and three coloured circles mean a hard to make piece.

When I first picked up the book I was very determined, as the introduction by the two authors was very encouraging. It talked about making the creases and folds very precise, but also about enjoying the hobby and how it takes time to learn to make a professional piece of origami.

The book is split into categories for each type of animal, such as Animal Fun, for animals such as crows and rabbits, Safari animals, the Sea World and the Forest.

The book comes with 50 pieces of origami paper, all already with graphic dedign for each animal.

The book itself has 35 animals to make.

So far, my favourite animal to make in the book is the lobster, as it looks so detailed but it only has a medium level of difficulty.

I would reccomend this book to older children and young teenagers as it requires nimble fingers and a keen eye.

I also think that this book is suitable for older teenagers and adults as origami can be made by anyone if they want to do it.

Thank you for reading my book review, and I hope you have a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

October 23, 2011

Lots of people have children and are looking for good resources for websites and social networks for children, so I thought I would give them a little information for when their kids get to the age when they get glued to the laptop. Feel free to tell anyone about it.

2. Stardoll, one for girls around the age of 12yrs. All about fashion and dress up. (Decorate your house, make an avatar/doll, dress your avatar/doll, etc.)

3. Moshi Monsters. Boys and girls arond the age of 8 love to play this game. You get to choose your monster, make a house and win monster trophies.

4. Yoobot VS Yoonot. Make your youbot (mini you) and care for it to keep it healthy, but watch out for your yoonot!!! (Yoonot: By mistake, inventor of yoobots, Gunter von Gunter, made a yoonot!) For children aged 9-15. Sponsored by the British Heart Foundation.

5. Poptropica, a place your child can explore their imagination. They can make their own character and then go on adventures on the 'islands'. The more islands they explore, the more medals they get and the more coins they redeem to buy 'magic costumes'. For children aged 8-15.

The Grim Grotto is from the A Series of Unfortunate Events series, and is written by Lemony Snicket. It was first published by Egmont Books Limited the U.S.A., 2004, with an arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

As the Baudelaire children dive into icy depths of despair once again, they encounter something that they never have before; a matter concerning life and death. With an ignorant tap-dancing ballerina fairy princess veterinarian on their tail, all they can do is do 'one small, noble thing', and that is to find the precious sugar bowl.

While exploring the Gorgonian Grotto, and getting trapped by poisonous fungi, will they escape in time to catch up with mycologist Fiona's stepfather, and save themselves from evil olaf's clutches, While saving a certain baudelaire from yet another terrible fate?

My favoutite character in the book was Fiona, as she was caring and thoughtful, and was a great help and comfort to Violet, Sunny and Klaus, the three Baudelaire children, on their treachorous journey.

I would rate this book ten out of ten, as this book had a complex story-line, rich in dialogue, and easy to follow.

I would reccomend this book to children of ages 8 to 12, and it is also a book worthy of reading by teens of about fourteen.

Thank-you for reading yet another of my book reviews, and I hope you enjoyed it!

September 06, 2011

"How to Survive Summer Camp" was written by Jacqueline Wilson and Illustrated by Nick Sharratt. It was first published in1985 by Oxford University Press. The Special Edition was published in 2010 to 2011 for the 25th anniversary of the book.

Stella, an average school girl, gets sent to a summer camp by her newly- wed mum. Dressed from head to toe in what she sees as awful camp clothes, she arives at Evergreen Camp ready for the worst.

Mistaken for a boy, bullied into swimming, and forced to share a room with snobby Louise and nasty Karen, Stella thinks summer camp can't get any worse, but with eccentric Ms. Hamer Cotton, and her Siamese cat, Tinkypoo, lurking around each and every corner, can it?

My favourite character in the book was Marzipan, as she was quiet and shy, but even though she was bullied by Karen, caring Stella still found that Marzipan had her own sense of opinion and did not care what Karen thought.

I would rate this book 10 out of ten as it had a funny and adventurous dialoge, and something unexpected lay in wait around each corner.

I reccomend this book to girls from the ages of 9 to 11, as it is a heart-warming story about overcoming you'r fears and making new friends, and I think that the story shows that a sense of humour always helps, even if it isn't that funny.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to read another of my book reviews, and I hope that you found it useful!

In the mornings, we did creative writing, and in the afternoon, digital stories. In creative writing, we covered a wide range of methods, including description, freewriting, and how fond you should be of you'r character. (If you like you'r character too much, you won't want to make them suffer, like all other characters do.)

After lunch, we did Digital Stories, we painted the interiors of cardboard boxes to be our scenes, and made plasticine figures for our characters.

Then we drew out our storyboards and started to take pictures and move the character a little for every picture. In the end we came up with three-minute movies.

During lunch and break, I socialised with my new found friends, catching up with what was happening to my old friends who moved to different schools, and talking to the odd child or two who would be joining my school in the school-year ahead.

Overall, I found going to a summer camp very enjoyable, and hope to go to another camp next year!

August 05, 2011

Eva's Journey was written by Judi Curtin and the cover illustrations are by Woody Fox. This book was first published by The O'Brien Press Ltd. in 2010.

Eva Gordon, a spoilt, high maintenance girl who likes nothing more than luxurious and sophisticated things, can't wait to go on her holidays.

But when her parents cancel her holiday trip and sell their expensive car, she just doesn't understand why.

So, when Eva's dad loses his job, and Eva and her parents move into a different neighbourhood in a different house, and having to go to a different school, she knows she hates everything.

Finaly, she finds a way that she thinks can get her out of this mess.

A forune teller, who tells her to start being nice and helping people. So, with the help of her best friend, Victoria, will she be helping other people as well as herself?

My favorite character in the book was Victoria because she was friedly and kind, and a giving frien, too. Even when Eva was at her snobbiest, the down to earth, middle -class Victoria would always know the way to cheer her up.

I would rate this book 9 out of ten as it had an exciting and enjoyable storyline, but just needed a bit more character description about Victoria and Eva.

I would recommend this book to girls of the ages 9-12, as it is an intresting and enticing read with a moral to it that everyone should keep in mind: Friendliness gives friends, and doesn't cost a penny!

Thanks for reading another of my book reviews, and I hope you enjoy all of my other future posts!

August 04, 2011

Many children today play with their friends in the street and sit in the living room watching the television. of course, this is what most people expect children to do these days, but is a chocolate bar and a rented DVD really the best thing to do, or should we re-think that?

Well, did your parent's parent's have televisions at all?

No. Instead, they were much fitter. After watching a documentary, I now know that many children today are much less fit than their grandparents were.

A good 1 hour of excersise is what everyone needs each day. Your one hour could include doing chores, playing an instrument, or even a mixture of things, such as: Roller Skating, skateboarding, cycling, walking, running or jogging, hoovering or hula hooping.

I was told recently that some past generations would do 100 hundred push-ups, sit-ups, squats and lunges a day, and could also put their hands on the ground whilst keeping their legs strait as a form of keeping fit!

But remember there are also other ways for older and younger people to keep healthy, such as having fun in the garden.

Parents can either relax or join in the fun with their kids as they mess around and have fun.

If you don't even have a small back garden or front lawn, an open to public local park or grassy area will do.

My Two Tips To Fun In The Garden:

1. Do you have a kiddies sized tent? A kiddies tent is a small 'play tent' that you can put up without pegs or anything, as all you have to do is pull it open, but you may have to peg it if it is windy.

Kids love to have their own little 'house' to play with their toys in. If you don't have one, you may be able to buy one in Argos, Smyths, or a kids toy store near you.

If you cannot find one, try looking for one online (if you're an adult, that is). Remember that kiddies tents are small and brightly coloured.

2. Spending time skipping is fun and great exercise - I also remember at different stages in the past getting about 3 D.I.Y. birdhouses and I still have an inflatable bowling strip, including inflatable bowling balls and pins!

And for boys then a football can be put to good use.

If you cannot find a suitable toy for your child to use in the garden, or do not want to have to buy one, you can always ask if you can borrow one from your neighboor, or have a trade of toys once a month.

Thanks for reading this post and I hope that you found my tips useful. What other suggestions do you have for keeping fit and having fun in the garden?